EUGENE - Oregon assistant coach Tom Osborne and national championship
games are old friends, but they're not exactly on good terms.

When
Oregon plays Auburn in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 10
in Glendale, Ariz., it will mark Osborne's fourth coaching appearance in
a national title game at three different levels of college football.

Osborne
is 0-3 in such games, having lost the Division II national title with
Portland State in 1987 and 1988 and the 1994 1-AA title game with Boise
State.

"I'm bad news," joked Osborne, UO's special teams/tight
ends coach, Tuesday after the Ducks final practice before taking time
off for the holidays. The Ducks return to the field Monday.

When
Oregon coach Chip Kelly was facetiously asked if he was concerned
Osborne could be a title-game jinx, he responded, "He's never coached in
a title game."

When informed that Osborne in deed has, Kelly
turned, glanced Osborne's way and said, "Well, we hadn't talked about
that at all. That's the first I'd heard about it."

"Bad news" or
not, given the success of the players and units Osborne has coached
during his 30 years in coaching, he clearly has been instrumental in the
success of the team's he's coached with. He said the thrill of reaching
a championship transcends the prestige factor.

"It doesn't
matter what level you are playing in," he said. "If you have 120 some
odd teams and you're one of the final two teams playing for all the
marbles, that's a huge deal. You don't ever forget those teams, ever."

Osborne,
50, began his coaching career in 1981 at Washington State, his alma
mater. In 1986 he joined first-year PSU coach the late Pokey Allen's staff as
running backs coach.

The Vikings went 6-5 that season but
followed up with a record of 11-2-1 in 1987, winning two playoff games
before losing 31-17 to Troy State in the Division II national title
game.

The Vikings returned to the title game the following year
and finished 11-3-1 with three playoff victories before falling 35-21 to
North Dakota State in the national championship game.

The
Vikings reached the semifinals in 1991 and 1992 before virtually the
entire coaching staff, including Osborne, bolted for then-Division I-AA
Boise State in 1993.

The Broncos, with Osborne coaching running
backs and tight ends, went 3-8 that first year before improving to 13-2
the following season and reaching the national championship game. There,
BSU lost to Youngstown State, 28-14. Current Ohio State coach Jim
Tressel coached the Penguins.

The disappointment of repeatedly
losing championship games remains with Osborne. But what he said he
remembers most are the relationships built with players and coaches and
how special the playoff runs were.

"It's disappointing to go
that far and lose," he said. "But what I remember is the experience, the
run to get there, the ride to get there, if you will."

Of
course, coaching a team through lower-division playoffs is a totally
different challenge from preparing for the BCS championship game.
There's less pressure in the regular season and more preparation time
for only one postseason.game.

Osborne first joined Oregon's staff
in 1995, coaching special teams until 2001 when he moved on to coach
special teams and tight ends at ASU through 2006.

He returned to Eugene in 2007.

While
the teams he helped coach at PSU and BSU found almost instant national
success, Osborne has found the challenge of reaching an BCS national
title game more difficult, primarily, he said, because the margin for
error is less.

The Vikings and Broncos each lost games during
their regular seasons. Such allowances are rarely afforded to Pacific-10
Conference teams in terms of reaching a national championship. One
missed step, and it's over.

"In this process it's a little bit
different because in this league there's 10 really good teams and 10
really good coaches," Osborne said. "At PSU and Boise State, there were
teams that we were far better than so there were only a few major
challenges those season."

Although he said he enjoyed the
playoff systems in the lower levels, he also appreciates the bowl system
and the fact that going undefeated is rewarded.

"If you're
undefeated in this conference, or in any other big conference…you should
play in the national championship game," he said.

Given the
higher level and the visibility, January's title game will certainly
carry more magnitude than those he coached in for PSU and Boise State.
But another loss could also be even more painful.

"The farther
you go the harder it is for you to lose," Osborne said. "It's hard to
lose. And it takes a period of time until you get over it."